


The Wheel is come Full Circle

by tayryn



Category: James Bond (Craig movies)
Genre: Angst, Explicit Sexual Content, F/M, Older Woman/Younger Man, Original Character(s), Tissue warning!!!
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-12-30
Updated: 2014-01-08
Packaged: 2018-01-06 18:44:25
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 11
Words: 21,604
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1110264
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tayryn/pseuds/tayryn
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“I did get one thing right.”</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Persiflage](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Persiflage/gifts).



> Thanks, as always, to Pers for the beta! The woman deserves a medal for having to deal with my comma happy tendencies!! And also for Brit-picking for me! I appreciate that much!

 

~007~007~007~

“I did get one thing right,” M told him hoarsely, her eyes locked with his as she drew in a shallow breath.

James swallowed the lump in his throat, and tightened his arms around her just that little more, as he realized she was saying goodbye.

He felt his heart constrict when he heard the rattling breath leave her body, and then… nothing. Her body went slack in his embrace; her blue eyes staring lifelessly up at him. He reached up, his hand shaking slightly, and gently closed her eyes as tears spilled from his own eyes. 

James cupped her cheek as he pressed his lips hard to her forehead, and took a shuddering breath.

M. His M was gone. He’d failed to keep her safe.

There was so much he wanted to say to her… so much he wanted to tell her, to show her, and now…

“NO!”

James quickly lowered her body to the cold chapel floor, and began to administer CPR. He’d be damned if he let her go without a fight. “Come on, M!” He pushed heavily on her chest several times, then covered her mouth with his, and blew his breath into her lungs. He was aware of Kincade standing off to the side, but paid him little attention as he continued to pummel M’s chest. 

“Stubborn bitch, fight dammit!” James swore at her just before he covered her mouth again. He yelled at her between every breath. “M! Don’t you dare give up! M!”

Suddenly her body shuddered, and she drew in a large, gasping breath. “James!”

“Thank, God!” James panted, his eyes on her face as her eyelids fluttered open, and she stared up at him with unfocused eyes. He slipped his arms around her, and cradled her against him once again. “Don’t you ever pull that shit again, do you understand me?”

She nodded weakly.

“I want you to fight, M!” James told her in a stern voice. “Promise me you’ll fight to stay alive, please, M!”

M nodded again, and whispered, “Yes, James…”

James smiled, then looked up as the sound of helicopters filled the air. He turned towards Kincade. “That’s Six. Get out there. Tell them M’s hurt, and to get the medics in here right away.”

Kincade nodded, and hurried past them.

Bond looked down at M, and couldn’t help smiling as she winced. Her being in pain meant she was still alive, still with him. He cupped her cheek, and lowered his head so that his nose was brushing hers. “I’m not ready to lose you…” he told her, then brushed his lips over hers in the softest of kisses. “Please fight for me, Olivia.”

“…James…” Her voice was barely above a whisper as her hand found his, her fingers wrapping around two of his and squeezing. “I…

Whatever she’d been about to say was lost when the medics rushed into the chapel. James returned the gentle pressure of her fingers, then eased his hand from hers to let the medics do their thing, and stepped out of the way.

“Bond.”

James turned to see Mallory standing beside him, arm in a sling, concern etched on his face, as he looked over to where the medics were working to stabilize M.

“What happened?”

“She was shot apparently,” Bond answered.

“Apparently?”

“She didn’t let on. It wasn’t until a few minutes ago, when she collapsed, and died in my arms that I found out,” James told Mallory with a bitter edge to his voice.

He was all too aware of how close he had come to losing her, and his heart still felt as if it were being held in a vice. James shook his head to banish the dark thoughts. The medics were here, and she was being looked after. She would be all right, and he felt the grip on his heart ease just that little bit. 

“Silva’s dead,” he told Mallory in a voice devoid of emotion, needing something to distract him from rushing back to M, and getting in the medics’ way.

“I saw that,” Mallory replied with a glance to the dead body lying only a few feet away. “I’m sorry you had to lose your home in the process.”

Bond shrugged. “Doesn’t matter.”

Tanner rushed in just then, and came to a skidding halt beside the two men. “Sir,” he began, addressing Mallory, then stopped when he saw the medics, and realized who they were working on. He swallowed, and looked at Bond. “Is she…?”

“She’s stable.” One the medics responded as he approached the three men. “For now,” he finished then turned to James. “She’s asking to speak to you. Please make it brief. The sooner we get her to the hospital, the better her chances. She’s lost a lot of blood.”

James nodded, and quickly made his way to M’s side. He grasped her hand, and leaned over her. “M?”

She tilted her head slowly, and blinked as she looked at him, a soft smile touching her lips beneath the oxygen mask. “James…” 

It was muffled by the mask, but it was his name on her lips, and he couldn’t help smiling, even as she frowned and reached a shaky hand up in an attempt to remove it.

James helped her, and lifted the mask away from her face. “You shouldn’t talk. You need to save your strength,” he told her.

M shook her head, and licked her lips. “What did I… tell you… about using my real name?” She asked in a scratchy, breathless voice.

Bond chuckled, and stroked his thumb over her cheek. “When you get better, you can make good on that promise.” He leaned in closer, bringing his lips to her ear. “Remember your other promise,” he spoke softly. “I’m not ready to lose you.” He lifted his head, and brushed another light kiss to her lips before whispering, “Olivia…”

He placed the mask back over her mouth and nose before she could utter a retort, but her twinkling eyes told him all he needed to know.

She’d fight.

Then she’d get him back for using her name.

He grinned down at her, and gave her hand a gentle squeeze, which she returned.

“Sir.” One of the medics touched his shoulder. “Sir, we need to get her to the hospital now.”

James nodded. “I’ll see you soon, M,” he told her, squeezing her hand once more before releasing it. He stepped back, and watched the medics carry her out of the chapel.

“She’ll be all right, son.”

James turned to see Kincade standing with Mallory and Tanner. He hadn’t been aware the old groundskeeper had returned to the chapel. Bond nodded, and looked back towards the now empty doorway. ‘I hope so,’ he thought, the icy grip on his heart tightening once again.

~007~007~007~

He stood on the rooftop, staring out at the jungle of buildings that made up London, as a cold wind whipped around him.

_We’re sorry, 007._

He did not feel the cold though. All he felt was numb.

_She didn’t make it._

That’s what the doctor had told him when he’d finally made it back to London, back to Vauxhall Cross, and had immediately headed for medical.

_She died in transit._

James shook his head.

_We did everything we could._

It had taken every ounce of control he possessed to not give in to the sudden rage that had nearly overwhelmed him at the news.

M was dead.

She had died.

In the space of a heartbeat, Bond’s world had gone dark.

He’d wanted to grab hold of the doctor, and shake him, hold his gun to the man’s head, and tell him to take it back. That he was mistaken, that M, his M, was still alive… that he hadn’t lost the one woman in the world who truly meant the world to him.

Instead, he’d simply turned, and walked away, walked out of headquarters. And he kept walking, not paying attention to where he was going until he found himself standing on the steps to M’s flat. He’d let himself in, and had wandered around for a while, simply touching her things, until finally, he entered her bedroom.

He had felt the prickle of tears then, as he walked deeper into her room, and realized that he could smell the lingering scent of her in the air. He moved over to her bed, and lowered himself down to sit on the edge, then reached out and placed his hand on her pillow with a deep sigh of her name.

Even now, James had no idea how long he’d stayed in M’s bedroom, simply sitting on the edge of the bed, tracing absent designs on her pillow.

“Bond.”

James blinked against the cool wind, then looked back over his shoulder to see Tanner standing solemnly in the open door leading back into the building.

“It’s time.”

Bond nodded, and with one last glance out over the city, he turned and followed Tanner.

Time to go to a funeral.

~007~007~007~

She came to with a low groan.

Christ, she hurt.

“Oh, you’re awake!”

Her eyes fluttered open at the strange voice, and then quickly snapped shut as the bright overhead lights blinded her. She felt herself drifting, and fought the fog in her brain to slowly ease her eyes open once more, pleased to find the lights had been dimmed. She saw a young brunette leaning over her with a gentle smile on her face.

“Where…?” Her throat was too dry to speak, and she began to cough. Tears filled her eyes as the ache in her body grew with every spasm.

“Relax,” the nurse told her, and she felt something against her lips. Realizing it was a straw, she parted her lips and took it in her mouth, sucking greedily. She sighed with relief as the cool water eased her parched throat. “You’ve had a rough go of it, but you’re going to be fine.”

She nodded.

“My name’s Stacey,” the young woman told her, as she gave her another sip of water. “I’ll be the one taking care of you.”

“Where…?”

“You’re in medical.” Stacey cut her off.

She shook her head. That wasn’t what she wanted to know, but Stacey continued talking as she stood, and began to check the various bags hanging on the IV pole. “The doctors removed the bullet and stone fragments from your hip. You’re actually quite lucky. From what I was told, you lost quite a lot of blood; we almost lost you a couple of times.” Stacey stopped fiddling with the IV, and leaned over her with a smile. “Now, I know you just woke up, but I want you to try to relax, and go back to sleep.”

M shook her head, but within moments her eyelids felt too heavy to keep open, and she realized Stacey had given her a sedative. With a sigh she closed her eyes, and let the drug work its magic on her body. Little by little she felt herself drifting back to sleep, one thought in her mind.

‘James.’ M’s mind whispered as a tear slipped from her eye, and ran down her temple, falling onto the pillow beneath her head. ‘Where are you?’


	2. Chapter 2

Bond slouched in the chair, nursing a drink, as he engaged in a staring contest with the ceramic bulldog sitting on the coffee table in front of him.

Moneypenny had kept it safe for him while he’d been away on his last mission. He’d picked it up on his return to home soil, and now he simply stared at it while he tried to relax. He flexed his left hand, sighing as the pain from his injury shot up his arm.

He was lucky, James surmised as he took a long swallow of his drink, he’d very nearly lost his hand, but thankfully had walked away with nothing more than a very bad sprain. It still hurt like a son of a bitch though. He flexed his fingers again as he took another sip, then closed his eyes, relishing the burn of the alcohol sliding down his throat. He idly wondered what M would say.

His eyes snapped open at the thought to see the bulldog still staring at him.

The anger he’d felt when he’d been told that she’d died came rushing back, along with a whole mess of other emotions, and he whipped his glass across the room, shattering it against the far wall, instead of reaching for the ceramic statue mocking him from the table.

“Shut up!” he muttered at it, then stood, and began to pace.

Suddenly, he grabbed his jacket off the back of his chair, and stormed out of his flat.

~007~007~007~

He lowered himself down onto the cool grass with a sigh, then reached out to slowly trace the lettering on the stone in front of him.

“Hello, M…” James said softly as he placed the single red rose he’d purchased, on his way to the cemetery, on the grave marker. He drew his legs up, folded his arms over his knees, then rested his chin on his arms, and simply stared ahead. He hadn’t been back to visit her grave since just after her funeral a month and a half earlier, and he wasn’t entirely certain why he was here now.

He’d never visited his parents’ grave. In fact, until he’d returned with M, he’d only been back to Skyfall once since leaving as a child. He sighed, and dropped his gaze back to her grave marker. “I thought I’d tell you about my last mission. I know how much you hate not knowing what’s going on,” he said, then began to speak in a soft voice.

“Mr. Bond?”

James’ head snapped up to see a young woman, no more than twenty-five years old he guessed, standing a couple feet away. He frowned, annoyed at being interrupted, especially when he was just getting to the exciting part of his tale.

“Are… are you Mr. Bond?” she asked in an anxious voice, glancing about nervously.

“Yes,” James replied as he slowly got to his feet. “And you would be?”

“Stacey. Stacey Aiken.”

“What can I do for you, Ms Aiken?” Her name was not familiar, and he did not recognize her face. His curiosity was piqued now, especially as she continued to glance about and shift anxiously from one foot to the other.

Stacey bit her bottom lip. “I have a message for you.”

“From who?”

She pointed to the grave marker. “From her.”

Rage flared inside him. “I don’t know what you’re playing at, Ms Aiken,” he said between gritted teeth. “But you have just two seconds to walk away before I…”

“I… I’m not playing at anything, Mr. Bond. Really. Mrs. Mansfield did send me to find you. She needs your help,” Stacey told him stumbling over her words. “She said you’d be wary, but also told me to tell you, and I quote, ‘I’m not ready to be lost. I’m fighting for you, 007.’”

James’ heart began to beat frantically, as that moment in the chapel came back to him.

_“I’m not ready to lose you…” he told her, then brushed his lips over hers in the softest of kisses. “Please fight for me, Olivia.”_

“She said you’d understand what she meant,” she told him, her expression showing that she did not understand just what she was telling him, only that she hoped he would believe her.

M.

M was alive.

For the first time in almost two months, James felt a thaw start in his heart. He allowed his gaze to soften as he met Stacey’s eyes. “I believe you,” he said, and watched some of the tension leave her body. “There’s more you need to tell me, obviously, but not here. Come on, we’ll go some place we can talk freely.”

Stacey nodded.

~007~007~007~

James pushed his plate away, and leaned back in his chair as he regarded the young woman sitting across from him.

After leaving the cemetery, James had stopped for some take away, and taken Stacey back to his flat. She’d been jumpy the entire walk back to his flat, constantly glancing back over her shoulder as in fear that they were being followed. It was only once they were inside his flat that she’d begun to relax, and they’d eaten their dinner in silence.

Stacey looked up at him as she lowered her fork. “Thank you for dinner.”

“You’re welcome,” James replied, then tilted his head. “So… tell me what you know about Olivia Mansfield.”

Stacey took a deep breath.


	3. Chapter 3

It was sound of voices that woke her next, not pain.

M did not open her eyes, trying to ascertain if she recognized the voices, but quickly realized they were talking just quietly enough, that she couldn’t. Unaware of how long she’d been asleep since Stacey had given her the sedative, she began to assess how she was feeling.

“Ah, good, you’re awake.”

That voice she recognized.

She also recognized that it was one she should not be hearing.

The seriousness of her situation hit her in that moment. She kept her eyes closed as she realized just how much danger she was truly in.

“Come now, Olivia, do open your eyes.”

With a confidence she didn’t quite feel, given her current condition, M slowly opened her eyes to see a man of average height, but with a broad muscular frame, she did not recognize standing beside a tall, thin man she did. A man she’d not seen in over a decade. A man who was supposed to be dead. “Hello, Tailor.”

“Olivia.” He inclined his head, a smirk curling the corner of his mouth. “Welcome to my little world. I’ve been waiting for some time to get you here.”

M glared at him.

“I know what you’re thinking,” Tailor began to speak, his voice dripping with disdain.

“I doubt it,” she told him quietly. “You were never that insightful.”

Tailor’s face flushed, and anger flashed in his eyes. He planted his hands on either side of her body, on the hospital bed, and leaned over her. “Don’t push me, old woman. I can make your recovery exceedingly painful if you’re not careful.”

She blamed her weakened condition for allowing him to see her fear. She’d tried to hide it behind her usual impassive mask, but the gleam in his eyes, told her he’d seen it.

He pushed himself away from her, and straightened up. “Now, where was I?” he asked in a light conversational tone. “Ah yes, I remember.” He smiled at her, his eyes alight with what M could only describe as manic delight. He gestured to the television hanging in the corner, to which a DVD player had been hooked up. “Before you get your hopes up that anyone from Six will be coming to rescue you, you should watch this.”

M was suddenly aware that the head of the bed was being raised, and turned her head to see the other man with the bed controls in his hand. 

“Watch,” Tailor told her, once the bed stopped moving. “Watch and know that no help is coming.” His voice taunted her, as the television suddenly came to life.

M’s eyes widened, and she inhaled sharply, as she realized what she was seeing.

“That’s right, my dear Olivia…” She shivered at the feel of his warm breath in her ear, not having realized he’d moved in close again. “To the outside world, Olivia Mansfield is dead.”

She shook her head. “No…” she whispered. “They won’t believe it.”

“Oh, but they have already,” Tailor told her. “Your funeral took place two weeks ago. Mallory, who has taken your place as head of MI6 by the way, decided there was no reason to prolong events, and you were buried within two days of passing away.”

M swallowed the lump in her throat, and her left hand curled into a fist under the blanket. She fought against the urge to cry as she watched the footage playing out on the screen, but it was when she saw James, that her heart broke.

“Even your favourite agent, Bond, believes you are dead. See?”

‘Oh, James…’ Her heart cried silently. He looked sad, as any person attending a funeral would look, but as the camera zoomed in on his face, M could see the haunted look in his eyes. He’d always had a hard look about him, especially his eyes. But just under the surface, if you looked carefully, lay an undercurrent of wry humour. M had always been able to see it, and it often made her smile to know they shared the same dry sense of humour. But as she looked into his beautiful blue eyes on the screen, all she could see was pain; so much pain, as well as complete and utter heartbreak.

“As you can see, you are mine to do with as I please.” Tailor grinned manically at her, then reached out to pat her patronizingly on the head. “So, do take your therapy seriously, won’t you. I do want you properly healed for what I have planned for you.”

M glared at him. “Why are you doing this, Tailor?”

“You know very well why, my dear Olivia.”

“You must be joking. Tailor, that was a long time ago. As for the other, you know damned well that decision was not mine.”

“It does not matter. Not only did you deny me what I wanted, you took something that was rightfully mine, and I vowed to make you pay for it. That time has come.”

M shook her head in disbelief. “You won’t get away with it.”

The smile on Tailor’s face grew dark, and in spite of her best efforts, M felt a shiver of fear creep down her spine.

“I already have, Olivia. I already have,” he told her. “Haven’t you begun to wonder how you came to be here, and not in MI6’s infirmary?”

She had wondered, actually, but had quickly deduced that the medics were working both sides.

“Ah yes… I can see that you’ve already figured it out,” he nodded approvingly. “Yes, your medics worked for me as well as for MI6; as does your head doctor. So, you see, it was quite easy to fake your death. After all, I’ve had practice.” Tailor glanced down at his watch. “Alas, it is time for me to leave you.” He pointed the remote at the player, and set it to repeat. “I’ll leave this playing for you.

Tailor pocketed the remote, but not before he pointed it at the television once more, and turned up the volume. “I’ll even let you enjoy listening to what your friends and coworkers had to say about you. Apparently they were all unaware of just how much of a bitch you really are, or rather, were.”

He laughed. A dark, humourless laugh, that continued to ring in her ears long after he left.

It took every ounce of willpower she possessed not to panic, and instead, she focused her attention on Bond’s image on the television; seeing him, seeing just his image, helped calm her, in spite of his apparent anguish. But that calm was short lived, as the longer she watched the screen, the more heartbroken she became.

~007~007~007~

“I’d been on lunch,” Stacey told James. “When I returned, it was just in time to see Mr. Collins, and William, his bodyguard, leaving her room. I hung back, for some reason. I just did not want him to see me, and when I was certain he’d gone, I quickly went to her room.”

Stacey paused a moment, and James watched her eyes fill with sadness.

“When I walked in the room, there was a television on, turned up quite loudly, and Ms Mansfield was curled up on her right side, with her hands over her ears. As I got closer, I could see tears streaming down her face.”

 

_“Ms Mansfield?”_

_“Turn it off… please… turn it off…” M gestured blindly at the television, her body curling tighter in on itself._

_Hearing the anguish in the older woman’s voice, Stacey hurried over to the TV, and after only a moment’s pause, reached out and turned it off._

_“Thank you, Stacey.”_

 

“You paused before turning the television off,” James noted. “Why? What was on?”

“It was a funeral.”

“Oh, Christ!” James swore, as he realized what the bastards had done, and whose funeral they were torturing her with, he asked, “What did you see?”

“Ms Mansfield’s headstone,” Stacey whispered. “That’s when I began to realize that something wasn’t right.” At Bond’s arched eyebrow, she elaborated. “Mr. Collins had told me, when I first began to look after her, that Ms Mansfield was a very dangerous patient. I was skeptical. After all, she’s an old lady.”

Bond chuckled softly at that. “If there is one word I would never use to describe Olivia Mansfield, it’s old,” he explained at the confused, questioning look on her face. “Please continue. What else did he tell you?”

“He told me that I needed to be wary, and to not let myself be fooled by her… that she’d try to convince me that she was being held against her will.”

“You believed him at first,” James observed, and Stacey nodded.

“You have to remember, Mr. Bond, as far as I knew, I was working for the British Secret Service, for MI6. It wasn’t until just a few days ago that I learned the truth.”

“I know,” Bond nodded. “How did you learn the truth?”

Stacey took a deep breath.


	4. Chapter 4

Slowly, with measured steps, M made her way across the room from her bed to the wall. She paused for only a moment, turned, then walked back again. She did this several times, ignoring the flash of pain from using the healing muscles; determined to get her mobility back as soon as possible.

She had no doubt there was a hidden camera somewhere in her room, and that Tailor was keeping a very close eye on her progress, but she did not care. She kept her attention focused on getting her strength back, and getting back to James.

James.

Just the thought of him sent her heart racing. 

She was determined to get better, not only because she’d promised him she would, but because she wanted the promise she’d seen in his blue eyes as he’d cradled her in his arms on the cold floor of Skyfall’s chapel.

M could still feel the soft touch of his lips on hers, feel his warm breath, as he whispered her name with a longing she’d, quite honestly, never expected to hear from him.

She’d long ago accepted that she was attracted to James and, if she was being completely honest with herself, she’d fallen in love with him as well. However, she’d been married, and she had loved her husband too much to do anything about that attraction, so she had buried her feelings for James deep in her heart. Her husband had been a good man and had treated her well for all the years they’d been married, and she could not, in all good conscience, betray him that way.

And while she’d also been aware of an undercurrent of attraction between herself and James, she’d simply put it down to James being James – a man who flirted with everyone – after all, there was no way a man young enough to be her son could ever, seriously, be attracted to her.

But what M had seen in his eyes that night had told her a different story.

He’d gone above, and beyond, the call of duty to keep her safe from Silva. Christ, he’d even sacrificed his childhood home for her.

The pain in her hip suddenly flared, more intense than before and lingered, pulling M from her thoughts, and she realized it was time to rest. Pushing herself too hard would only work against her. She made her way back to her bed, and eased herself up onto the mattress, then leaned back with a sigh.

She looked at the clock. She’d managed to stay on her feet for forty-five minutes.

A smile touched her lips.

Little by little she was getting stronger, and that pleased her immensely.

At that moment, the door to her room swung open with a bang, and Tailor sauntered in, followed as always by William who, M had learned over the last month, was Tailor’s bodyguard. As Tailor made his way across her small room to her bed, William took up his usual place right beside the door, and crossed his arms as he leant back against the wall.

“I am so pleased to see that you’ve been taking your therapy seriously, Olivia,” Tailor told her with a broad smile. “It will make things so much more enjoyable for me knowing you will be able to endure what I have in mind for you.”

M just barely kept herself from smacking his hand away when he reached out to touch her hair and stroke it; she knew now was not the time to provoke him.

Tailor slid his fingers into her hair, curled them into a fist, and pulled hard.

M winced, and only just stopped herself from gasping in pain.

He leaned in close so that his nose was mere inches from hers. “I cannot tell you just how much I am looking forward to this, my dear Olivia. To hear you scream, and beg for my mercy.”

“You’ll be waiting until hell freezes over, Tailor,” M told him between clenched teeth.

Tailor yanked on her hair again, pulling her head back.

M bit her lip, as she refused to give him the benefit of hearing her cry out.

His lips curled into a nasty smile. “Oh, I think you’ll cave long before that.” He covered her mouth, and gave her a hard, sloppy kiss, thrusting his tongue deep into her mouth until M thought she would gag. When he pulled back, he licked his lips suggestively, and with great deliberation. “Oh yes… I think you will.”

With that, he released her hair, and stood. M wiped her mouth with the back of her hand, and glared up at him.

Tailor continued to smile at her. “Soon, Olivia,” he told her as he began to walk away. He paused in the door which William had just opened for him. “Very soon, you will pay for everything. I promise.”

M watched him leave, her heart pounding frantically in her chest, and drew in a shaky breath. She’d realized, after his first visit, that Tailor had allowed his rage and jealousy to colour his view of events until his twisted version was all he believed.

He was, quite literally, M knew, insane. And, that made him extremely dangerous.

‘James…’ M’s heart and mind cried out. ‘James, I need you!’

~007~007~007~

Stacey took a deep breath.

“The other day I was in the loo,” she flushed slightly. “I’d just started to open the door to leave, when I heard Mr. Collins talking with his bodyguard, William. Again, something told me not to let them see me. So, I left the door as it was, open just that little bit, and…”

“You eavesdropped,” James said with a grin.

“Yes.”

 

_“She sure is a feisty old broad,” William commented. “I bet she was quite the looker when she was young, and I also bet she was a tiger in bed… quite the wild fuck.”_

_Tailor stopped suddenly, whirled around, and slammed his bodyguard up against the wall, pressing his arm across his throat. “Olivia Mansfield is many things, but she is not a broad. Never let me hear you talk about fucking her ever again. Understand?”_

_“Yes…” William croaked._

_“Good,” Tailor nodded, and dropped his arm as he stepped away._

_“Sorry, sir.”_

_Tailor waved away his apology. “Now, I want you to have things ready to begin in a week’s time,” Tailor told him. “I want to see just how much she can endure before she begs me to put her out of her misery.”_

_“You’re really planning to kill her?”_

_“Yes,” Tailor replied flatly. “I can’t very well let her go afterwards. And the bitch deserves it. I had thought about having my way with her first, but I’m afraid it would tarnish the memory of what it was like being with her when we were younger,” he paused, and an almost manic gleam flashed in his eyes as a large, feral grin curled his lips. “You were correct in your supposition though, William. Olivia was very much a tiger in bed.”_

_William smiled only slightly as he rubbed his throat. “Do you want it done here, or at the other site?”_

_“Here is fine,” Tailor said. “We’d have to sedate her otherwise for transport.”_

_“All right.” William nodded. “One of the lower level rooms?”_

_“Yes.”_

_“Very good, sir. I’ll have everything ready for you for Saturday.”_

_“Thank you, William.”_

 

“And, then they left.” Stacey finished her story.

“What happened next?” Bond asked, his hands curled into tight fists on his lap under the table. 

“I waited several minutes until I was sure they were gone, then made my way to Ms Mansfield’s room. When I got there, I could see that she was still visibly upset from Mr. Collins’ visit.”

Bond frowned, having a pretty good idea of what Collins had said to M to upset her.

“I knew I had to tell her what I’d heard, and that I now believed her about everything she’d been telling me for the last few weeks. That she was being held against her will. That I was not working for the British Secret Service like I thought I was. And, finally, that she was the head of the real MI6,” Stacey told him. “And, if she was right about that, then she was probably right about Mr. Collins having a camera and microphone in her room.”

Bond nodded. From what Stacey had told him thus far, he’d quickly figured out that Collins was obsessed with M. So it made perfect sense that he would be watching her every move.

“I decided to take her down to the pool,” Stacey said. “I figured even if there were cameras down there, all the splashing would act as good cover. When I got her down there, and in the water, I told her what I’d overheard.”

 

_“Thank you, Stacey.”_

_“You’re welcome. I’m sorry I didn’t believe you. I…”_

_M shook her head. “No apologies. You were only acting on the information you had at the time.”_

_“So, what do we do now?” Stacey asked as she continued to spot M in the water._

_“Find Bond.”_

_“Bond?”_

_“He’s one of my agents, the best one,” she said. “Find him, tell him everything you’ve told me, and he’ll figure out how to get me out of here.”_

_Stacey nodded. “Where do I find him? Does he have a flat somewhere in the city or…?”_

_“I don’t know if he’s gotten around to finding a new flat,” M said, then stopped swimming, and lowered her feet to the pool floor. She met Stacey’s gaze as she bit her lip thoughtfully. Finally, after several moments, M said quietly, “Try the cemetery… my grave.”_

 

“She told me which cemetery it was, where her plot was located, and what to say to you when I found you so that you’d believe me.”

Bond sighed.

“Mr. Bond, you are going to be able to get her out of there, aren’t you?” Stacey asked, concern evident in her voice. “I mean, it’s already Thursday…”

“Don’t worry, Stacey,” he told her. “I **will** get her out of there.”


	5. Chapter 5

“Tanner, listen to me, we don’t have time. We need to get her out of there.”

Stacey watched as Bond paced about the living room, and shook his head as if the person on the other end of the phone could see him.

“No. No. Look, I told you what I need,” he said, then stopped pacing, and frowned. “I don’t know. Do you really think we can?”

She let her eyes wander admiringly over his body. Stacey wished Ms Mansfield had warned her that Bond was such a good looking man. Tall, muscular, just how she liked them, she thought as she licked her lips. And, his eyes, Stacey mentally fanned herself, Bond had the most startling shade of blue eyes she had ever seen. If the situation wasn’t so dire, she’d seriously contemplate seducing him. ‘Maybe when all of this is over,’ she told herself.

“Yeah, okay…” Bond’s voice cut through her thoughts. She blinked, and refocused her gaze on him as he began to pace once more, and wandered out of the room.

“He has a very fine arse, too,” Stacey muttered to herself with a sigh.

~007~007~007~

“So, what have you found out?” James asked, once he was out of earshot of his guest.

_“Stacey Aiken. Born seventh of July, nineteen eighty-eight at St. James Hospital in Northampton,”_ Tanner answered, then began to rattle off some more information about her schooling, and where she’d grown up.

“Tanner,” James cut him off. “I don’t care about all that, just give me the current stuff.”

_“Sorry, James,”_ Tanner replied. _“Her record has her listed as working at St. Thomas’ Hospital…”_

“Which we know is just a cover, as she’s been under the impression she works for Six.”

_“Exactly.”_

“What about the floor plan for the Century House?” James asked.

_“I’m emailing you now,”_ Tanner replied.

“Thank you, Tanner.”

_“You’re welcome. James?”_

“Yes?”

_“Do you trust this woman?”_

“I trust her enough.”

_“Do you really think she’s telling the truth, and that M is alive?”_

“She knew about the conversation I had with M in the chapel at Skyfall. No one else was around, Tanner, not even the medics. So, yes… I believe her when she says M’s alive.”

_“I’ll take your word for it then.”_

“Thank you,” James said with a touch of good-natured sarcasm as he stopped pacing the small hallway.

He sighed deeply.

_“What?”_

“I’m not going to lose her again, Bill,” James said. The night of M’s funeral, he and Tanner had ended up at a nearby pub, having drinks in M’s honour, and James had confessed to Bill just how much M meant to him; that somewhere along the line, he’d fallen in love with their boss. His voice was barely above a whisper when he continued, “I can’t lose her again.”

_“I know, James, and you won’t.”_

James pushed himself off the wall, mentally shaking his head. “No! I won’t!”

_“A car’s been dispatched to your flat with the supplies you requested. It should be there within the hour,”_ Tanner told him. _“I will update Mallory with what we’ve planned, and will coordinate things from this end.”_

“Good.”

_“Just be sure to watch your back.”_

“I always do,” Bond replied, and allowed a wry smile to touch his lips when he heard Tanner make a slight disparaging sound on the other end. “I’m going to instruct Stacey on her part in all this before the car gets here.”

_“Very good. And, James…”_

“Yeah?”

_“Good luck.”_

“Thanks, Bill. You too,” James said then disconnected the call. He pocketed his phone, then made his way back into the living room. Stacey was where he had left her, sitting on his sofa reading a magazine. “Sorry about that.”

“Not a problem,” she said, as she lowered the magazine. “Is everything all right?”

“Yes. Just a few details to work out,” James replied as he sat in the chair beside the sofa. He leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. “Before we go any further, I need to ask, are you absolutely sure you’re up for this?”

Stacey nodded.

“Good,” he said, then began to outline what her part in rescuing M from Tailor Collins’ clutches would be.

~007~007~007~

“You understand what you have to do?”

Stacey nodded as Bond helped her on with her jacket. It was the third time he’d asked her. “Yes.”

“I know I keep asking,” he said, stepping back as she turned to face him. “I just want to cover all bases, and make certain you truly understand what is being asked of you.”

“I know,” Stacey smiled at him. His concern touched her, and not for the first time, she wondered if maybe he was the tiniest bit attracted to her.

“I can’t tell you how much I appreciate your doing this,” Bond continued, and reached out to lay his hand on her shoulder. “Your help is crucial in getting her out.”

“I’m happy to do it,” Stacey told him, her heart starting to race at the heat of his touch. “She’s a sweet old lady, and does not deserve what Mr. Collins is planning.”

“No, she doesn’t,” he agreed.

At that moment there was a knock on his door. 

“That will be your ride,” he said, and stepped around her to open the door.

“Good evening, sir.”

“Good evening, Kent. How are you?”

“Well, sir, thank you. Mr. Tanner sent me,” the young man told him, then held up two large duffel bags. “I was told to bring these to you.”

“Thank you, Kent.” Bond took the bags from him. “Is this everything?”

“Yes, sir.” Kent nodded. “And I was told you had a passenger for me.”

“I do,” Bond told him, and turned to look back over his shoulder at her. “If you’ll wait in the car, she’ll be right there.”

“Very good, sir.”

Stacey watched as Kent walked back to the car, which she realized was nothing more than a taxi. She gave Bond a look when he straightened up after placing the duffel bags on the floor out of the way. “A taxi?”

“To allay suspicion, on the off chance anyone is watching your place.”

Stacey felt her body tense. That was the one thing she was truly afraid of. Collins having her watched. She inhaled sharply when Bond grasped her upper arms, and gave her a gentle smile. 

“It will be all right, Stacey. Kent is a trained agent, so you’ll be quite safe. It’s just a precaution. You’ve given Collins no reason to suspect you, so don’t worry.”

Stacy nodded, too distracted by the face that he was touching her again, and standing much closer than he had all evening. “Okay.”

“Good. Now go home, and get some rest.”

“Okay.”

“And try to relax, all right?”

“I’ll try,” she said.

“Good girl,” he smiled at her again, gave her a gentle squeeze, then released her.

She sighed at the loss of his hands, and buttoned up her jacket as she moved towards the door, then stepped outside. “I’ll be ready. I promise.”

“I know you will,” he replied. “Thank you, Stacey.”

“You’re welcome,” Stacey smiled at him, then quickly made her way down the few steps to the pavement. When she reached the bottom, she stopped and turned to look back up at him. “Mr. Bond?” 

“Yes?”

“Does Ms Mansfield know anyone named James?

“Why do you ask?”

“A couple of times, when she was sleeping, she cried out for someone named James. I figured he was her husband…”

“She’s a widow.”

“Oh.” Stacey frowned. “If she weren’t so old, I’d almost think this James person was her lover…”

“Why?”

“Well, because of the longing in her voice when she’s calling for him”

“He’s not her husband.”

“Do you know who this James is then?” Stacey asked.

Bond nodded.


	6. Chapter 6

As she completed her fourth circuit of her room, M glanced at the clock on the wall. Stacey should be arriving soon to start her shift, and M couldn’t help wondering if the young nurse had been able to find James.

Time was running out.

So, knowing she needed to be ready just in case Stacey was unable to find James, M had begun formulating her own plan of escape.

She’d recognized where she was being kept, which building, the first day that Stacey had brought her down to the pool for her aquatic therapy. Century House. MI6’s headquarters before the new, and more modern, Vauxhall location.

M knew this building well, regardless of the fact that it’d been almost twenty years since she’d been inside it. All she could hope for, if Stacey had been unable to find James, was that Tailor hadn’t discovered all the building’s little secrets, so that she could attempt her escape.

Better to be shot trying to escape, than to let Tailor torture and kill her, M thought ruefully. Even better would be James swooping in to save the day as he was wont to do, and the two of them disappearing off to parts unknown.

She shook her head. She needed to concentrate, not get lost in daydreams of being with James, even though she knew very well that’s what she was fighting for. Fighting to live, and for the chance of finally being able to tell James how she truly felt about him.

With a new resolve, M pushed herself to walk faster, and harder, around her tiny room. She’d just completed her ninth circuit, when the door opened.

“Good morning,” Stacey said as she breezed into the room with her usual smile on her face, which quickly became a frown. “What are you doing out of bed?”

“I couldn’t sleep,” M told her simply.

“You’re not supposed to be out of bed.”

M shrugged.

Anxiety about her situation had woken her earlier than usual, and she had been unwilling to just stay in bed, waiting on others to decide her fate.

With that frame of mind, she’d eased herself out of the hospital bed, and slowly made her way to the small bathroom. After emptying her bladder, she’d braved a shower, and couldn’t help smiling, as she knew Stacey would not be pleased. The young nurse meant well, but she’d refused to let M shower unattended with her hip still healing. She’d argued that it was merely a gunshot wound, not a hip replacement, but Stacey wouldn’t budge on the issue. It had been the nicest shower she’d taken since waking up in this hell two months ago.

After her shower, she’d dressed in the pyjamas Stacey had brought for her, thankful she no longer had to wear those dreadful hospital gowns, then had begun walking around her room to help burn off the anxious energy buzzing through her.

“How long have you been doing this on your own?”

“For the last two weeks,” M answered, and bit back her smile at Stacey’s obvious exasperation.

“Ms Mansfield, you know you’re not supposed to be up walking by yourself.”

“I know, but I told you, I couldn’t sleep.”

“What if you’d fallen? You could have hurt yourself.”

M sighed, and had the grace to feel the tiniest bit chagrined at the genuine concern she could hear in Stacey’s voice. “I’m sorry, Stacey.”

“I am, too,” she said. “I didn’t mean to jump all over you; you just surprised me, that’s all.”

M nodded.

Stacey smiled at her. “Well, since you’re up, we might as well do your aquatic therapy now. Why don’t you go change into your swimsuit, and we’ll head down to the pool.”

“All right,” M replied, and slowly made her way across the room to the bathroom, closing the door behind her.

~007~007~007~

As M closed the door, Stacey glanced surreptitiously at her watch. She’d been running a little behind this morning, nerves causing her to spill her coffee all over skirt, and she’d had to change before leaving her flat. She’d then rushed to get to work, very aware of the timetable Bond had laid out.

And while she had not been surprised to find Ms Mansfield awake – she usually was when Stacey started her shift – she had been quite shocked to find her up, and walking around. Shocked, and now pleased, as it put them back on schedule.

The door opening pulled Stacey from her thoughts, and she smiled to see M walking, slowly, and somewhat stiffly, toward her. She hadn’t realized just how far the older woman had progressed on her own, and shook her head in amazement.

Bond was right, she was a stubborn woman.

“I’m ready,” M said.

“Let me grab the wheelchair,” Stacey told her.

“Must we?”

“Yes,” she answered. “Just think of it as taking a small break before getting into the pool. I’m sure you could use one by now.”

M sighed, and nodded.

Stacey opened the door, and stepped outside, returning moments later with the wheelchair she’d left just outside the room. She wheeled it over to Ms Mansfield, and smiled. “Hop in.”

She laughed softly to herself at the look M shot her as she sat down in the chair. She carefully maneuvered the chair out of the room, then wheeled her down the hallway, and backed the chair into the lift reserved for the medical staff.

“Oh no!” Stacey exclaimed as the lift doors closed, and the lift began to rise.

“What’s wrong?”

“I pressed the wrong button,” she said, as she reached out to press the button for the pool level. “Looks like we’re going to have ride the lift all the way to the roof first.”

“That’s all right; it will make for a nice change.”

Stacey chuckled, and patted M’s shoulders, then left her hands resting there as the lift continued its ascent. They fell silent, both acutely aware of the cameras monitoring them.

Stacey dropped her eyes to her watch as she felt her anxiety grow. They were still on schedule, but she still couldn’t help feel that something was going to go wrong.

She prayed nothing would.

But what was troubling Stacey the most, was Ms Mansfield, and the fact that she was not in on the plan. She’d mentioned that little wrinkle to Bond the night before, but he’d not been worried in the least.

 

_Bond smiled. “M’s sharp. Don’t worry about her. She’ll have it all figured out before you reach the twelfth floor.”_

_“And, how will I know when she figures it out, if she does?”_

_Bond’s smile just grew. “You’ll know.”_

 

Just as the thought entered her head, Stacey felt M’s shoulders tense under her fingers, and realized the older woman had figured it out. She glanced up at the floor indicator, then shook her head as a wry smile touched her lips.

They’d just reached the tenth floor.

The lift moved swiftly, but to Stacey, with her stomach tied up in anxious knots, it seemed to crawl, and the silence in the car, only made it worse.

“I do hope the pool is a little warmer today.”

M’s voice broke the silence, startling her. She laughed softly, and glanced down to find M with her head tilted back, looking up at her with a small smile playing over her lips. “So do I.”

“Either way, I’m looking forward to this.”

“I bet you are.”

Feeling the lift begin to slow, Stacey glanced back up at the floor indicator just as they passed the twentieth floor. When it changed to show they’d reached the twenty-first level, Stacey felt M shift in the wheelchair, and her body tense even more than before. As it changed to show they’d reached the top, the roof, Stacey slowly let her hands drop to the chair’s handles.

When the lift finally came to a stop, the doors opened, and Stacey quickly pushed the chair out onto the Century House’s rooftop.

The moment they were both completely off the lift, Stacey stopped, and couldn’t help smiling when M immediately stood, again proving Bond right that she’d figured out their plan. Stacey took a step back, pulling the wheelchair with her, then spun it around and slipped it between the closing doors of the lift, effectively rendering it useless.

She heard M inhale sharply, and quickly turned to find out what was wrong, then stopped when she saw the older woman staring across the roof, and smiled.

“James!”

The smile fell from Stacey’s face.

~007~007~007~

The moment Stacey pushed her wheelchair free of the lift, M pushed herself out of the chair, knowing instinctively she needed to be on her feet for whatever was going to happen next.

It hadn’t taken her very long, once they were in the lift, for M to realize that Stacey had located Bond, and that he’d come up with a plan to rescue her, as she’d known he would. Granted, she had no idea exactly what his plan entailed, she trusted James, and his uncanny knack of thinking on the fly, and having everything work out.

And she’d known she simply had to be ready for whatever his plan was.

The higher the lift rose, the faster M’s heart had begun to pound in her chest, as she realized, or more accurately hoped, that James would be there waiting for her. When she felt Stacey’s hands slip from her shoulders to the handles on the chair, M knew to be ready. Once the doors to the lift opened, and Stacey pushed the chair clear, she quickly stood, and stepped over the foot rests.

She was aware of Stacey moving the chair out of the way when movement across the roof caught her attention. Her heart nearly burst out of her chest, and she pulled in a sharp breath.

“James!” M exclaimed softly.

She felt her eyes fill with tears as she watched him stride across the roof toward her, but refused to feel foolish for her reaction, telling herself it was understandable after everything she’d been through the last two months.

Unable to wait, even just a second longer, for Bond to reach her, M walked briskly toward him; ignoring the flash of pain in her hip as she closed the distance between them.

And then, with a soft sob of his name, she was in his arms, her face buried in his chest. “James... oh, thank god.”

She felt him press a kiss to the top of her head. “Olivia…” he whispered her name into her hair, then clasped her face in his hands, drew her head back, and gave her a quick, hard kiss. “When I get you out of here,” James told her, his voice rough with emotion. “You and I are going to have a long talk about us.”

M nodded.

Brushing his lips over hers again, James released her, then grabbed hold of her hand, and began leading her across the roof. He looked back over his shoulder. “You coming or what?”

In her joy and relief at seeing James, M realized she’d forgotten all about the young nurse, and glanced back to see Stacey looking at them with a strange look on her face.

“Don’t just stand there, Stacey, move your arse!” James told her gruffly, and M was pleased to see the other woman hurry after them. “Here, put this on,” he said, and thrust a harness into her hand.

M’s eyes widened. “You can’t be serious, 007,” she said, as he began to pull on his own harness.

“I’m very serious, M. Get the harness on,” James replied. “We don’t have much time left before Collins realizes what’s going on.”

“James, I haven’t rappelled in years,” she told him, even as she stepped into the harness, and hiked it up to her waist and began to tighten it.

Stacey reached them at that moment, and James handed her a third harness, as well as a belay device. When his fingers brushed the younger woman’s accidentally, M quickly understood the reason for the look on her face moments ago.

Like most women, Stacey had fallen under James’ spell, and had, M figured, thought she might have a chance with him once this was all over. M realized the look had been one of shock, and disappointment.

“You and I are going tandem,” James’ voice broke into her thoughts, and she admonished herself for losing focus. He grinned at her. “I just got you back; damned if I’m letting go of you again any time soon.”

M couldn’t help smiling back at him, and chuckled softly.

“And I know your hip isn’t completely healed yet,” James told her as he finished adjusting his harness, and hooking it to the rope hanging over the edge of the roof. He reached for her, and pulled her close. “It’ll be all right, M. I promise.”

“I know.” She squeezed his hand, and stepped even closer. “All right then, hook me up, 007.”

James’ grin grew. “Yes, ma’am,” he said as he began to hook their harnesses together. “How are you doing over there?”

M turned to look at Stacey, who gave her a quick nod. “Okay. I’m just about ready,” she replied as she adjusted a buckle on her harness, then bent down to grab her rope, which she quickly began to hook to her harness.

“Good,” Bond said, then turned his attention back to M.

He’d just finished hooking them together, and held his hand out to her when loud, blaring sirens broke the silence.

“Shit!” James swore. “Come here!” He grabbed her hand, and yanked her into his arms. As he was turning her into position, a gun shot rang out, startling them both.

“James!”

“I’m all right! Are you hit?”

M shook her head.

Together they turned to see Stacey drop to her knees with a look of shock on her face as she looked down to see a red stain blossoming on her crisp white uniform top. She looked up at them, her eyes wide with fright before she crumpled into an unmoving heap.

“Stacey!” M made a move to go to her, but James, and the harness, stopped her. “James, we have to…”

“We need to get out of here,” James told her, pulling her back against him.

“Please don’t rush off on my account.”

They both froze, and M felt James’ body tense against hers.

She twisted her head around, and watched as Tailor stepped out of the shadow of the rooftop utility shed, and walked towards her and James, his gun trained steadily on them.

He stopped only a few feet away from them.

“You didn’t really think you could take her from me, did you, Mr. Bond?” Tailor asked.

“The thought had occurred to me, yes,” James replied, still holding her close.

Tailor gave a harsh laugh. “I’m afraid I can’t allow that. You see, I have plans for dear Olivia, and you, Mr. Bond, would just be in the way.”

“Is that so?”

“It is.” Tailor shifted slightly, and aimed the gun at James’ head. “Now, Olivia, my dear, if you would be so kind as to disconnect yourself from your former agent, we can be off.”

M felt James slip his arm around her waist and pull her closer, and watched Tailor’s eyes narrow in anger. “James,” she whispered, shaking her head against him. “Don’t…”

“You’re not going with him, M. I won’t let him take you from me again,” James told her quietly.

“Olivia, darling… please do as I say,” Tailor spoke again, and gestured with the gun. “Disconnect yourself from Mr. Bond, and I will let him live. Hesitate any longer, and I will shoot him in the head, and simply unhook you from his dead body myself.”

M bit her lip, then reached her left hand between their bodies to begin undoing the carabiner hooking her to James. 

Bond’s hand covered hers. “No, M, don’t!”

“James, I have to,” she told him, as she met his eyes, and squeezed him gently with her right arm, which she’d slipped around his waist when he’d pulled her into his arms. She wanted to stay as close to him as she could for as long as possible. “I can’t let him kill you.”

“I’d listen to the lady if I were you, Mr. Bond.”

“M, you know as well as I do, he’s going to shoot me either way,” James said, ignoring Tailor.

“Not if I can help it,” she replied, continuing to fumble with the hook with her left hand. When her right hand moved to the middle of his back, she watched comprehension dawn in James’ blue eyes.

“M…” His voice was barely above a whisper as he shook his head.

“A little quicker, if you please!” Tailor’s voice rang out once more. “No more stalling for time, my dear. Your precious 007’s life depends on it.”

They both looked back at Collins. He hadn’t moved, and still had his gun trained on James.

“All right, Tailor, I’m almost done,” M told him, then shifted her gaze to James’ once more. “We have no choice, James,” she said, her eyes boring into his. When she saw the almost imperceptible nod of his head, she gave him a brave smile then stepped out of his arms.

Turning to face Tailor, M swung her right arm up, and fired the gun she’d pulled from the waistband of Bond’s trousers, and hit Tailor in the right shoulder.

“You little bitch!” Tailor swore, as he lifted his now injured arm to fire his gun.

M felt James’ hand close around hers, and together they fired a second shot, knocking the gun out of Collins’ hand.

Tailor howled with rage, and charged them.

M suddenly found herself in a heap on the roof. She looked up in time to see Tailor land a punch to James’ face, splitting his lip. He staggered backwards, and her stomach dropped when she realized how close to the edge of the roof James was. 

“She’s mine, Bond! You can’t have her!” Tailor cried as he swung at the younger man again, catching only air as James weaved out of the way.

“I do believe the lady has other ideas,” James replied, in a deceptively calm voice, as he brought his fist up, and caught Collins in the stomach, knocking the breath out of him, then drove another punch into the older man’s face.

M winced, but took great satisfaction in the crunch she heard, and watched as Tailor stumbled backwards a few steps, his hands covering his now broken nose.

“I’m going to fucking kill you for that!” He swiped at the blood gushing into his mouth, and glared at Bond. “And, then I’m going to kill that little bitch, too!”

“You can try,” James told him in a mocking voice.

Tailor roared in anger and rushed at Bond.

M watched, her heart in her throat, as at the last minute, James spun out of the way, and performed a perfect roundhouse kick; catching Tailor in the back, and sending him careening off the roof of the building.

His screams could be heard for several minutes, and then there was nothing.

M scrambled to her feet, and ran into James’ arms with a cry of his name.

“Come on, we’ve gotta get out of here,” James told her, keeping his arms around her, and leading her back to the roof’s edge.

“James…” She shook her head, as he quickly reconnected the carabiner, and grabbed hold of the rope.

“M, we have to go. This is the only way,” he said. “It’s too dangerous the other way.”

It was then that M realized she could hear the alarm in the building still going off, now mixed with the sounds of gunfire.

She felt his hands on her waist, and the next thing she knew, he was lifting her into the air. 

“Hold on tight,” James instructed her, and she wrapped her arms and legs around him. “You okay?”

“James, are you sure about this?”

“Yes. It will be faster this way than doing it the proper way. Do you trust me?”

“Yes,” M answered without hesitation, as she held his eyes. “Completely.”

James smiled at her in response, and inched closer to the edge. “Ready?”

M swallowed, and nodded, burying her face in his shoulder as she instinctively tightened her arms and legs. “James?” Her head snapped up. “How the hell did you get up here?”

James chuckled. “I’ll tell you later,” he said, then brushed his lips over hers. “Hang on, M… we’re going for a ride.”

M buried her face in his shoulder once again, and then suddenly she felt herself falling.


	7. Chapter 7

James kept a strong grip on the belay device. It was dangerous, he knew, to descend this quickly on the rope, improperly tandem at that, but he had to get M to safety. He could feel her trembling around him as she clung to him.

“We’re almost there, M,” he told her, spotting the pavement less than twenty feet below, and felt her nod her head in acknowledgement. He frowned when he glanced down again, and realized that Collins’ mangled body lay on the pavement, only a few feet from where they were going to stop. James swore internally. M didn’t need to see that. Not after everything she’d been through the last two months.

He knew M was a strong woman – hell, she was the one woman he truly respected - and had seen her share of death and destruction, over the years, especially given the fact that she’d been an agent in her younger days. And he knew she could handle it, but he instinctively wanted to shield her from the gruesome sight.

The moment his feet touched the ground, James freed them from the rope, then grasped M’s waist to hold her steady as she unwrapped her legs from his hips. When he slipped his hands between them to unhook the carabiner, he heard her gasp, and knew she’d seen Collins’ body. 

James reached up to cup her cheek, and drew her gaze away from the tangled mass that was once Tailor Collins. “M, don’t…”

She looked up at him, her eyes full of pain and regret, and nodded sadly.

He finished disconnecting them, then grabbed her arm and led her along the pavement, in the opposite direction of Collins’ body, to a parked car several feet away.

M stopped suddenly, and grabbed his arm. “James! Stacey! We left her up there! We don’t even know if she’s alive.”

James shook his head, as he opened the car door. “She’s alive,” he told her as he hustled her into the car then shut the door. He hurried around the right side, and climbed in.

“How do you know?” M asked as he started the car, put it in gear then hit the accelerator, tearing out of his parking spot and into the street.

“Just before we went over the edge I saw her move,” he answered. “The team from Six will grab her. She’ll be taken care of.” He reached out with his left hand to cover her right one where it was clenched in a fist on her thigh. “We’ll check in with Tanner later, so you can stop worrying. All right?”

M nodded, and moments later, James felt her hand unclench, then turn under his to lace her fingers with his.

“Where are you taking me this time?” She asked softly, and Bond glanced over to see a hint of a smile playing on her lips.

He squeezed her fingers gently as he answered, “My flat.”

~007~ 007~ 007~

She stood, her body tense, her arms wrapped tightly around herself, and stared out the front window.

She was safe now. She knew she was. He’d rescued her, as she’d known he would. 

And yet… she still could not help feeling that something else was going to happen, that the other shoe was just waiting to drop.

M shook her head.

She had no reason to feel this way. Tailor was dead. Not only had he been shot, he’d gone over the edge of the Century House roof, and fallen twenty-one stories to his death on the pavement. She’d seen his mangled body for herself, and knew there was no way Tailor had survived that.

So why was she feeling so anxious, she wondered, then released a deep sigh.

“Are you all right?” 

The question was uttered softly behind her. She met his gaze in the reflection of the glass as he stopped just mere inches from her.

“Yes, and no,” she answered, then reached her hand back. His fingers curled around hers, and she drew him closer, until his chest was pressed firmly against her back. His arms wrapped around her, and she felt some of the tension leave her body. “This helps.”

“Yes, it does.” James agreed, and tightened his embrace a little more. “What’s got you worried?”

“I’m not entirely certain,” M told him honestly. “I just feel like this isn’t over. That the other shoe is just waiting to drop.”

James nodded as he rested his cheek against the top of her head. “I know what you mean.”

“Tailor is dead. Six has the Century House locked down, and the only people who know I’m here with you are Tanner and Mallory, am I right?”

“Yes.”

“I know I’m safe here with you,” she said, and nestled deeper into his embrace. Her voice was just above a whisper when she continued, “I feel safe here with you.”

James nuzzled her temple. “I’m glad.”

M smiled softly as she held his eyes in the glass. After several moments of silence, she felt James’ arms tighten around her.

“Why was Tailor so hell bent on killing you?”

She sighed, and closed her eyes.

Before this, before Skyfall, in spite of what she felt for him, she would have told him to mind his business, and sent him on his way. But now, after everything they’d been through, everything he’d sacrificed for her, and especially because of what they felt for each other, even if neither one had yet to utter the words, M decided to tell him. 

James had more than earned her trust, and her honesty.

“We were recruited by Six at the same time. Tailor, myself, and a half dozen others. Each of us with no families to speak of…”

“Orphans always make the best recruits,” he told her softly, and she could hear the smile in his voice as he quoted her words back to her.

She tilted her head back to look at him, and smiled softly. “Yes, we do.”

James squeezed her gently in response.

“Tailor and I moved up through the ranks much faster than the others,” she continued with her story. “And, somewhere along the way, he became convinced that we were a couple, or that we should be, and he began making advances. I’m afraid I didn’t take him seriously, as Tailor had been quite the charmer, flirting outrageously with everyone, myself included, right from the start.”

“What changed?”

“I was promoted to Double-0 status before him. It was a year later before he was promoted,” she told him. “The night of my promotion, I came home to find him in my flat.”

M felt James’ body tense. “He didn’t…?”

“No. He didn’t,” she said, with a shake of her head, and felt him relax. “He asked me to marry him. I turned him down.” M frowned at the memory. “He got so angry. It was the first time I’d seen him that angry in all the years we’d been at Six. The rage was coming off him in waves, and I have to admit, I was frightened.”

“What did he do?” James asked quietly.

“Put his fist through the wall a couple of times, kicked over my coffee table, and some other damage, and then he left.”

“Did you report him?”

M shook her head. “I should have, I know, but I didn’t. It was still too much of an old boys’ club at that time, so I knew nothing much would have been done. I was gone on assignment a lot after that, and did not see much of him over the next several years unless we had to work together. Thankfully those assignments were few, and far between.”

She reached down to gently rub her hip. Moments later, she felt his hand slip beneath hers.

“Do you want to sit down?”

“No. It’s not that bad, really; just a dull ache.”

“Are you sure?” James began to gently massage her hip.

“Yes,” she hummed, as the warmth of his hand helped soothe the tired muscles.

“So, what happened next? You reached the mandatory retirement age for Double-0s…”

M nodded. “It was just after that, I met Reginald.” She smiled at the memory. “Reg worked for Six as well. He was a communications specialist.”

“Makes sense since he spoke several languages. Seven, correct?”

“Yes,” she answered, slightly surprised he knew, and then remembered that James had hacked into her personal file years ago, the cheeky bugger.

“Collins wasn’t too happy, I take it.”

“No, he wasn’t. The day Reg and I got married, Tailor showed up at the restaurant where we were having a small reception, and threatened Reginald,” she told him. “Reg reported him, and Tailor was given a reprimand, but that was it.”

“That’s all?”

“Old Boy’s club,” she said simply, and felt him nod.

“I can guess what happened next,” James murmured. “You were both up for promotion to Section Chief, which you got, and Collins was pissed.”

M nodded.

“And, and then again for head of Six itself.”

“Yes.”

“What happened when you were made M over him?”

She barely repressed a shudder, and felt James tighten his embrace and pull her closer. She patted his arm in thanks, then took a deep breath before continuing with her story. 

“A few days after it was announced, he showed up at our flat. Reg had worked late that night, so I was home alone. He forced his way inside, and then went on a rampage. He told me that I shouldn’t have married Reginald, that I should have married him. He also told me that I had taken the job that should have been his once again, but he’d forgive me if I divorced Reg, and married him.”

“Christ!” James swore. “Where the hell was your security detail?”

“I hadn’t officially taken over as M at that point. I only had the one bodyguard. Tailor had knocked him out, and I swore him to secrecy afterwards.”

“Jesus, M! Then what happened?”

M felt the tension in James’ body return when she did not answer him for several moments.

“M? Did he…?”

“He tried,” she finally answered, and this time made no attempt to hide her body’s reaction to the memory.

“He didn’t succeed?”

“No. I kneed him in the groin, then gave him a black eye and fat lip for his efforts.”

“That’s my M.”

M chuckled softly. “He left after that, vowing he’d get even with me.”

“You didn’t tell your husband, did you?”

M shook her head.

“And you didn’t report him either, I’ll bet.”

She gave a small, rueful snort, and shook her head again. “You’re not going to ask me why I didn’t tell Reg?”

“No.” Bond shook his head. “If you had told your husband, he would have gone after Collins, and killed him.”

“What makes you say that?” M asked. It was the very reason she hadn’t told Reg. She’d known her husband would have done just as James said.

“Because it’s what I would have done,” James replied. “If Collins hadn’t fallen off the roof, I would have killed him with my bare hands.”

M heard the hard edge in James’ voice, and was reminded that the man holding her so lovingly, and so gently in his arms at this moment was, in fact, a licensed killer. One she’d had a strong hand in helping to groom. She nestled back against his chest, and continued her story.

“A year after I officially took over as M, Tailor died when the plane he was on exploded in mid-air. It did not even occur to me at the time that he’d faked his death,” she said, suddenly feeling very foolish for not having even considered that possibility. She should have known better. She really should have, but instead she’d…

“Stop it.”

“Stop what?”

“Stop blaming yourself.”

M frowned, and shook her head. “I should have known better.”

“Maybe you should have. But that happened over a decade ago, no sense in beating yourself up about it now.”

M nodded slowly. James was right. However…

“That’s not all that’s bothering you.” His voice was soft in her ear, and his warm breath sent a ripple of arousal through her.

“No.”

“You were relieved he was dead.”

“Yes,” M admitted with a whisper. “Tailor’s death meant I did not have to worry about him any longer. Wondering what he’d try next.”

“That’s a very human reaction, M,” he told her.

“I know it is, James. But I can’t help thinking now that if I had reported him, perhaps none of this would have happened.”

“Possibly.”

“Maybe if I had, we wouldn’t have gone through these last two months of hell.”

James nodded. “They were hell. Believing you were dead…” He pressed a kiss into her hair. “It felt as if my heart had been ripped from my chest.”

“I know that feeling well. It’s how I felt when I thought you were dead those three months,” M whispered.

“M…”

She could hear the apology in his voice, and shook her head. He had no reason to. She’d understood why he’d stayed away for those three months, and had she been in his shoes, she would have done the same thing. “James, don’t.”

“Don’t what?”

“Apologize. What happened, happened. We can’t change that now. I am just grateful that damned shot wasn’t fatal, and that you’re alive, and here with me.”

She felt James chuckle softly, and nuzzle her temple. “I am, too.”

M smiled, then turned her head to rest her cheek against his chest, taking comfort in the sound of his heart beating steadily beneath her ear. “We’re talking about us now?”

Bond nodded against the top of her head. “Yes.”

“Is there an us?”

“There’s always been an us, M,” James told her in a quiet, but sure voice. “You know that.”

“Yes…” she replied softly. “I do. Although, I have to admit, it wasn’t until that night in the chapel, when I realized how you truly felt.”

“I don’t think I truly realized it myself until the moment you died in my arms.”

“There’s always been an attraction between us, I know that, but I just put it down to you being you; the suave, and ever-charming, 007. I never once believed, truly believed, that you were seriously attracted to me, or felt anything beyond respect for me and my position as head of MI6. I hoped, but never really believed it was possible. After all, you’re young enough to be my son.”

“But now you know better.”

She nodded. “Yes.”

“Good, because what I feel for you is far from filial. I’ve been attracted to you from the moment I met you, M,” James told her. “Those minutes, giving you CPR, were the scariest minutes of my life.” His hand found hers, and their fingers laced together. “There was so much I wanted to say to you, to show you… and, do with you, and I was afraid I’d lost my chance.”

M squeezed his fingers. “That’s how I felt being held hostage by Tailor. I needed to escape, to find you, so I could tell you…”

“Tell me what?” he asked in a quiet voice.

She eased out of his arms, then turned to face him. She placed her right hand on his chest over his heart, and her left hand cupped his cheek. Her thumb gently stroked his lips as she looked deeply into his eyes, and spoke in a soft but sure voice, “I love you, James.”


	8. Chapter 8

“I needed to escape, to find you, so I could tell you…”

“Tell me what?” James asked quietly.

M moved out of his arms, and turned to face him, laying one had on his chest, the other cupping his cheek. Her eyes held his, the blue depths filled with so much emotion it took his breath away, as her thumb rubbed gently over his lips.

“I love you, James.”

Her words were spoken in a quiet voice, but filled with such certainty, that it made James’ heart skip a beat.

He grasped her face gently in his hands, his thumbs lovingly stoking her cheekbones, and lowered his head until his lips were mere inches from hers. His eyes locked with hers.

“I love you, too, Olivia,” James told her in a hoarse whisper, then covered her mouth with his, and kissed her.

He moved his lips against hers, kissing her gently… slowly… taking his time and enjoying the softness of her lips under his before his need to taste her became too much, and he sought entrance with his tongue. M parted her lips with a soft sigh, and James slipped his tongue into her mouth, groaning when their tongues met, and tangled around each other.

James slid one hand around to cup the back of her head, the other moving to the small of her back, as the kiss quickly grew into a hungry, passionate exchange. He felt M’s hands clutch at his chest, her fingers curling in his shirt as she pressed closer.

Without being aware he was consciously doing so, James slowly walked M backwards until her back came into contact with the large picture window. He dropped his hands to her waist, lifting her so that she could wrap her legs around him, and pressed his body firmly against hers.

They groaned.

James could feel the heat of her sex through the pyjamas she still wore, as well as his jeans, and it made his already hard cock swell even more as he thrust against her.

“James!” M broke off the kiss with a gasp.

He met her eyes, pleased to see them dark with arousal, and grinned at her as he continued to move against her. James wanted so badly to be inside her, to feel her hot and slick around his cock. He couldn’t remember a time when he wanted a woman more than he wanted M right now.

“James… oh god, James…” M moaned, as she sought his mouth, kissing him hard when her lips found his. Her fingers clawed at his scalp; he groaned, and pushed harder against her in response.

She came without warning, tearing her mouth from his with a cry of his name, and shuddered in his arms. James pressed her hard against the window, as he continued to thrust against her, his cock aching in the confines of his jeans, his body vibrating with need.

“Take me to your bed, James.” M told him, panting roughly as she rested her forehead against his. “I want you inside me.” She tightened her legs and circled her pelvis against his to emphasize her words

“Yes!” James growled. He grabbed hold of her thighs, held her close, and stepped away from the window. He quickly made his way out of the living room, groaning as her pussy rubbed enticingly against his cock with every step.

Her lips moved along his jaw, nipping his skin, murmuring his name in a voice laced with a yearning he shared. “James…” she whispered huskily in his ear. “I want you so much.”

James grunted low in his throat when she bit his ear lobe. He wanted desperately to be inside her, and was unbelievably hard with that need. Fuck, he’d waited so long.

The hallway between the living room and his bedroom was short, but to James, with M’s body rubbing provocatively against his, it seemed interminably long. When he finally reached his bedroom, he felt a small surge of relief. ‘Not too much longer now,’ he silently told his aching cock. 

He flipped the light switch on with his elbow, then hurried across the room, and knelt on the edge of the bed. He shuffled forward a few inches, M still wrapped tightly around him, then lowered them both, pressing her body into the mattress with his.

M grasped his face in her hands, and pulled his mouth to hers, kissing him voraciously as she rocked her hips under him. James groaned, and broke off the kiss, then pushed himself up so that he was resting on his haunches between her thighs, her legs falling open to either side of him.

James raked his eyes over her.

The sight of her – short white hair tousled, face flushed, blue eyes dark with arousal – sent a jolt straight to his cock.

He needed to get her out of her clothes now.

He quickly began to undo the buttons on the pyjama top she was wearing. When he released the last button, the top fell open.

“Christ, you’re wearing a swimsuit?!”

M glanced down, then chuckled softly, as she lifted her eyes back to his. “You forget, I thought I was being taken down to the pool for my aquatic therapy. It wasn’t until we were on the lift, and Stacey pressed the button for the roof that I figured it out.”

“True.” James nodded, reaching out to cup her breasts through the black spandex. He grinned when she moaned, and arched into his touch as he thumbed her already pebbled nipples. “But we need to get you out of it,” he told her, grasping her arms. He pulled her upright, and immediately began tugging the straps down her shoulders. “Now!”

M’s soft laugh made him smile as she helped him maneuver the top of her suit off, and then both groaned when he took her now bare breasts in his hands.

“Fuck, M!”

“All right?” she asked quietly, and he could detect a note of uncertainty in her voice. “I know they’re not as perky as the breasts you’re used to.”

James pinched her nipples just hard enough to make her gasp and arch into him. “They’re perfect,” he told her, staring down at them. “God, Olivia… I’ve wanted to get my hands on your tits for so long?”

She chuckled. “Really?”

“Oh yes,” James nodded eagerly as he hefted their weight in his hands. Fuck, they were so large they spilled over his hands. “And,” he lifted his eyes to hers, “what makes them so magnificent is they’re real.” James dipped his head, and sucked a turgid tip into his mouth. “Later,” he murmured as he moved to her other breast, and flicked his tongue over her nipple. “I am going to spend hours feasting on your breasts.”

M hummed her approval, and combed her fingers through his short hair. “Is that all you want to do?”

James groaned when she dropped one hand to cup his straining erection through his black jeans, and his eyes widened when he realized what she meant. “Are you serious? You’d let me…” he kissed the smooth skin between her breasts, a low growl escaping him as the image of laying his cock there, her breasts pressed around him as he thrust between them, filled his mind.

“Yes,” she nodded, tracing the shape of him through his jeans.

“Fuck.”

“You sound surprised, 007.” She chuckled, the sound going straight to his groin, as she began to unbutton his shirt. “Don’t forget, as a Double-0 myself, I’ve done things that would make your head spin.”

James groaned. He hadn’t forgotten she’d been a Double-0. He could never forget that. It was part of what he found so alluring about her. She’d also been 007 before him, a designation not used by any other Double-0 after her until she’d assigned it to him. It was a source of great pride that she’d given him her old number when he’d finally made his two kills.

“I have no doubt of that.” He told her as he raised his head to meet her eyes. She pushed his shirt off his shoulders, and James let go of her breasts only long enough to pull his shirt off and toss it aside, before cupping them once again.

“Are you certain?”

“Yes.”

While he had a vast amount of experience himself, James knew with absolute certainty M could still educate him in quite a number of things. He flashed her a wolfish smile. “I look forward to you showing me each and every one.”

M smiled knowingly at him, and he felt her release the button on his jeans, then begin to tug the zipper down. Moments later, he groaned her name when she slipped her hand inside, and her cool fingers encircled his cock.

He saw her eyes grow even darker, as she stroked him lightly.

“James.”

“Yes?”

“We both still have too many clothes on.”

James grinned. “I agree.”

He released her breasts, eased her hand out of his jeans, then moved to stand beside the bed. He toed off his shoes, removed his socks, then quickly shucked his jeans and kicked them out of the way. He turned his attention back to the half-naked woman propped up on her elbows, in his bed, watching him.

“You know,” James remarked, as he tugged off her pyjama bottoms. “I had every intention of making love to you.” He dropped the bottoms to the floor, then reached out to remove her swimsuit as well. “I wanted to take my time… to love you slowly for our first time.”

He watched M’s eyes soften, and a tender smile grace her lips as he climbed back onto the bed, and knelt between her legs. “I did not want to just fuck you.”

“Nothing wrong with a good fuck,” she told him, as he slowly trailed his hands up her legs.

“No,” James murmured distractedly, his attention now centred between her thighs.

He licked his lips at the sight.

The hair covering her pussy was silvery-white, same as the hair on her head, and glistened with the evidence of her arousal and earlier release. He reached out and drew his finger down between her swollen folds, pleased when she moaned, and lifted into his touch.

“You’re wet.”

“You sound surprised.”

“Well, I know that women, after a certain age, can sometimes have a hard time becoming wet,” James told her as he circled her clit before lightly stroking the sensitive nub.

M gasped. “That’s very true. Some do.”

“You’re not one of them?”

“Not today apparently,” she replied, a faint blush colouring her cheeks.

James grinned, then unable to resist, ducked his head and covered her sex with his mouth. He kissed her deeply, thrusting his tongue inside her, and groaned as her flavour coated his tongue. Fuck, she tasted divine.

“Oh god…” M’s moan was low and deep, as he pushed his tongue deeper, his thumb finding and stroking her clit.

He wanted her to come again… needed her to come again. Because, even though she was wet, James knew she was not quite wet enough to take him inside her body, and he did not want to hurt her.

Her hands were suddenly on his head, holding him hard against her as she came with a loud cry, grinding her sex against his mouth. He felt his cock pulse when another small tremor shook her body, and her fingers clenched in his hair. James longed to continue eating her out, to consume every last drop of her cream, but the desire to bury his cock inside her was stronger.

James pulled his mouth from her pussy after one last lick, then stretched his body over hers. Propped up on one elbow, his other hand was wrapped around his cock, drawing the swollen head up and down her slick folds.

“I need to be inside you,” he told her in a rough voice, as he positioned himself at her entrance.

“Yes…” she nodded, and reached up to cup his cheek. “Just go slow…” she inhaled sharply when he began to press inside her, “it’s been a while.”

James smiled, and nodded. He’d already suspected she’d not been with anyone since her husband. He ducked his head to give her a quick, gentle kiss, and little by little eased his cock inside the hot, wet warmth of her pussy until he was fully sheathed within her.

“Oh god…” he groaned, as he buried his face against her throat as he fought the urge to immediately start thrusting, knowing he needed to give her a few minutes to adjust to his girth. Fuck, she was so tight.

“Christ!” M panted softly, and he felt her nuzzle his temple as she wrapped her arms around his back, and held him close. After several moments, she clasped his head in her hands, and drew him up with a whisper of his name.

Their eyes met, and without saying a word, he began to gently rock against her.

James knew he wouldn’t last long. She felt entirely too good around him, and he’d waited so long to finally share this with her. He’d meant what he’d told her minutes before, he wanted more than to just fuck her this first time.

“It’s all right, James…” she told him breathlessly, and tightened her inner muscles around him. “Don’t hold back, give me all of you.”

James shook his head. “I want this to be good for you, too.”

“Oh, James… it is! It’s been very good,” M said, her eyes dancing at him. “And it will only get better. Now fuck me, James!”

“Oh god,” he groaned when she thrust up under him.

“Hard and fast, James… come on!”

Unable to hold back any longer, James gave her a firm kiss, then pushed himself up onto his arms, and began to thrust into her; hard and fast, just as she’d ordered. 

“Oh yes!” M moaned her approval as he moved in and out of her, and wrapped her legs around him. “So good… so good, James…”

James grunted when she raked her fingers down his back, her small nails biting into his skin, and drove his cock harder into her. 

“That’s it, James… make us come…”

“FUCK! M!” James growled when she lifted her head to bite his shoulder, and began to pound into her, harder and faster, circling and grinding his pelvis against hers with every thrust.

“Mmm… yes… James…”

James could feel her panting against his shoulder. He groaned, and increased the force of his strokes, determined now to make her come once more before he fell over the edge himself. 

“M… come for me again, M…” 

To his immense relief, her body suddenly tightened around his, her arms and legs clutching him tightly to her as she came, crying out his name. As she writhed beneath him, he slammed into her one last time, and came with a loud grunt of her name.

James collapsed into M’s embrace, breathing heavily.

“Are you all right?” he asked her several moments later, and raised his head, once he’d managed to get his breathing somewhat under control.

“Mmm… very all right,” she hummed, smiling up at him with a dreamy, satiated look on her face. “Thank you.”

“Anytime,” James grinned down at her, then rocked his hips against hers, pleased when she moaned softly. “And I do mean anytime.”

M laughed softly, a low throaty laugh that shot straight to his cock. “Such a naughty boy you are, James,” she said as she reached up to brush her fingers over his lips. “But you’re my naughty boy…”

James felt his heart begin to race once more for an entirely different reason at the emotion shining in her blue eyes, and nodded. “Yes. Yes, Olivia… I am.”

She gave him a tender smile as he lowered his head, and feathered his lips over hers in the softest of kisses, then rolled them over so that she was stretched out over him.

“I expect we’ll have to be debriefed once Six has finished at Century House,” M said as she snuggled into his embrace, her head on his chest over his heart.

“Yeah. Tanner said he’d call once they had everything taken care of,” James replied then reached down to rub his hand over her left hip, tracing his fingers over the soft scars he could feel. “Any pain?”

“No, surprisingly not.”

“Good.”

“You will remember to ask Bill how Stacey’s doing, won’t you?”

“Of course.” James nodded. “I owe that young woman quite a lot.”

“As do I,” M said. “Perhaps we can suggest to Mallory that he take her on at Six.”

“Good idea.”

They fell into a comfortable silence.

James continued to absently rub M’s hip, and without realizing it, he found his thoughts drifting back to the last time he’d held her in his arms.

Skyfall.

In the chapel.

M dead in his arms.

In his nightmares, he’d not been able to resuscitate her… not been able to tell her, even as vaguely as he had that night, that he cared deeply for her and longed for more with her.

But the nightmares that were the worst… the ones that had him bolting awake crying out her name, tears running down his cheeks… were the ones where he’d made it to the chapel in time to see Silva press his finger against hers on the trigger of the gun he held in her hand against her temple, killing them both.

“James?”

He blinked to find that M had lifted her head, and was looking down at him, concern in her eyes.

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing,” he replied, not wanting to share his suddenly morbid thoughts with her. Not after finding her alive, and finally being able to tell her how he felt about her. Not after finally bedding her, and having the most incredible sex of his life. Not while his softening cock was still sheathed within her body.

“It’s not nothing, James,” M said, and pressed her hand to his chest. “Your heart’s pounding a mile a minute. Now tell me.”

James sighed. “I was remembering that moment in the chapel… when you died in my arms.”

“Oh, James…” she whispered, rubbing her hand over his heart.

“I know… I know. You’re alive, you’re here… in my arms,” he said, tightening his arms around her. “I’ve had nightmares about that night, every night for the last two months. In them, I don’t revive you, and you die in my arms. But the worst ones…” He closed his eyes, and shook his head. His voice was barely above a whisper when he continued, “The worst ones are the ones where I don’t get there in time… and I enter the chapel just as Silva forces your finger on the trigger.”

“But you did get there in time, James. You did resuscitate me.” M cupped the side of his face in her small hand. “You rescued me from Tailor. You did what you do best… you saved the day.”

“I should have gone with you when the med team took you away,” he told her. “I could have kept you safe, and then maybe…” His voice trailed off when she began to chuckle softly above him. He frowned. “What?”

“Oh, James… now you sound like I did earlier. Blaming yourself for what ifs and maybes.” She lowered her head and kissed him tenderly. “No more looking back, James. We’re here, together…”

“And we love each other.”

She nodded, and murmured against his lips, “And we love each other.”

James grasped her face in his hands, and lifted her head to meet her eyes.

“Let’s concentrate on our future, James.”

He smiled up at her. “I’d like that,” he said, then drew her mouth back to his, and kissed her lovingly. As the kiss deepened, James felt the cold grip on his heart, the one that had been holding tight since he’d been told she was dead, finally melt away, and for the first time in two months, he felt alive.

“James?” M murmured against his lips.

“Mmm?”

M raised her head just enough to meet his eyes. “Now that you’ve fucked me so thoroughly…” She smirked down at him as she circled her hips against his, and he groaned when she clenched her inner muscles around his now semi-hard cock. “Make love to me, James.”

James grinned, and slid his hands down her back to grab her hips, then arched up under her. “Yes, ma’am.”


	9. Chapter 9

A soft ringing woke him.

James frowned, until he realized it was his mobile.

“James… answer the damn phone.”

He grinned at the irritation in her sleepy voice.

“Yes, ma’am,” he chuckled, and pressed a quick kiss to the top of her head, before he extricated himself from her arms. He rolled out of the bed, then padded naked out of the bedroom, remembering he’d left the phone on his coffee table.

Grabbing it, he glanced at the name on the screen before answering. “Hello, Tanner.”

_“Good afternoon, 007.”_

“Before you ask, yes, I got her out,” James told him. “She’s safe.”

_“Never doubted it for a moment,”_ Tanner replied, and James could hear the smile and relief in his friend’s voice. James knew Tanner cared a great deal for M as well. 

“So, what news do you have for me?” James asked.

_“We locked the Century House down with minimal resistance. There were some injuries, and only a few unavoidable deaths. And, speaking of deaths, Mallory wanted me to ask you about Collins.”_

“You found him?”

_“We did.”_

Even though he couldn’t see his face, James knew Tanner had winced, and he really couldn’t blame him. Collins’ ending hadn’t been a pretty one.

“He attacked us. M shot him, and then he went over the roof,” James told him in a dispassionate voice.

_“I’ll let him know,”_ Tanner said.

As Tanner continued filling him in on what had happened while he’d been rescuing, and escaping with M, James slowly made his way back to his bedroom. He leaned up against the doorjamb, and as he listened to Tanner, he stared at the woman curled around his pillow, sound asleep in his bed.

It hadn’t been a dream.

Olivia… his M… was truly alive.

He’d found her. Rescued her, and had just spent the better part of the day making love to her.

_“And, that’s where things stand now,”_ Tanner finished.

“When do you need us to come in?” James asked.

_“Tomorrow would be good. Best to get it over and done with as soon as possible.”_ Tanner replied.

“Good. Can you have Moneypenny bring over some clothes for M, please? All she has is the pyjamas she was wearing when I got her out of there.”

_“Will do.”_

“Thanks, Bill. I’m sure she’d appreciate it.”

_“I’m sure she would as well.”_ Tanner chuckled lightly on the other end. _“I’ll let you go. I’m sure the two of you have a lot to talk about.”_

“She’s sleeping at the moment.”

_“It’s only four o’clock in the afternoon, why on Earth is she sleep… oh! Never mind!”_ Bill gave a slightly embarrassed cough. _“I gather you told her, and she reciprocated your feelings.”_

James could hear in the other man’s voice that he wasn’t asking out of morbid curiosity. “Yes,” he answered simply, but with a smile on his face, knowing Tanner would be able to detect the note of happiness in his voice.

_“I’m happy for you, James. Both of you.”_

“Thank you, Bill,” he replied, as he continued to watch M sleep in his bed.

_“You’re welcome,”_ Tanner said. _“I’ll see you both tomorrow at eleven then.”_

“Sounds good,” James told him, then a thought occurred to him. “Oh, Tanner, how’s Stacey?”

_“Stacey? How do you mean?”_

“Collins shot her,” James explained. “We had to leave her up on the roof when we made our escape. Your team found her, didn’t they?”

_“There was no one on the roof, James,”_ Tanner said slowly. _“Just the ropes, a few bullet shells, and some blood, but there was no one up there.”_

James’ mind began to whirl with the implication of what Tanner was told him, and the conclusion he was coming to was not a good one. “Oh shit!”

_“James?”_

“I have a very bad feeling about this, Bill,” James said, his eyes still on M. “I need to get her out of here,” he told the other man suddenly.

_“What?!”_

“She’s still not safe,” James said as he strode across the room to where his jeans lay in a heap on the floor. He grabbed them, and cradling the phone with his shoulder, began to tug them on. “I’ll call you once I get her to a safe location, and we can make further arrangements then.”

_“I don’t…”_

“Stacey was in on it, Bill!”

_“Are you sure?”_

“Yes.”

_“Shit.”_

“I’ll call you,” James told him, then ended the call. He quickly zipped his jeans, buttoned them, then reached for and pulled on his shirt. Once he was dressed, he moved over to his dresser, and pulled out a pair of old sweat pants. He was just reaching for a T-shirt when he heard her stir, and softly call his name.

“James?”

He yanked the shirt out of the drawer, then hurried over to the bed where M was already sitting up, clutching the blankets to her chest. He handed her the clothes. “Put these on.”

To her credit, she took them without hesitation, let the blankets drop, and pulled on the shirt before climbing out of the bed to pull on the sweat pants. “What’s wrong?”

“The other shoe’s dropped,” he repeated her earlier words to her as he hurried across the room to his closet, and pulled out a beat up old duffel bag. “We need to get out of here. Now!”

“I take it that was Tanner on the phone?”

“Yes,” James replied, turning back to her as she finished tying the drawstring on the pants to keep them from falling. He was unable to keep the smile from his face, in spite of the urgency of the situation, at the sight of her in his, way too big for her, clothes.

“Who?”

He flung the duffel over his shoulder, then reached inside the closet once more, and pulled a light jacket off one of the hangers before he made his way back to her. He didn’t want to tell her, knowing it’d upset her.

“Stacey,” James answered quietly, handing her the jacket.

Her eyes widened, and she shook her head. “No, James…” M whispered. “It can’t be…”

“I’m afraid he’s right.”

The two of them turned sharply to see the young brunette standing in the door of the bedroom with a gun trained on them. James immediately stepped in front of M, shielding her body with his own, and felt her hands grasp his waist.

“Such a gentleman you are, James,” Stacey said. “It’s all right if I call you James, isn’t it?” She continued, not bothering to wait for his reply, and gestured with the gun. “Please step aside, James. I’d like to have a word with Ms Mansfield.”

“Over my dead body,” Bond said, aware of M peeking around his arm.

“If you don’t move, it will be.”

James felt M move behind him, and his arm shot back in an attempt to stop her. “M…”

~007~007~007~

M’s hands went to James’ waist as he stepped in front of her.

“Such a gentleman you are, James. It’s all right if I call you James, isn’t it?” She heard Stacey say, and peered around James to see her waving the gun about.

M frowned.

It upset her to know she’d misjudged the young woman’s character, and blamed her recovery from the near fatal injury, and her desperate need to escape, for allowing herself to be fooled so easily.

“Please step aside, James. I’d like to have a word with Ms Mansfield.”

“Over my dead body,” Bond said.

“If you don’t move, it will be.”

Usually quite level-headed, M knew right now James was thinking more as her lover, than as an agent - not that she could blame him. She was feeling much the same way - worry for him overriding her normally orderly thoughts.

Stacey was obviously not stable, and M’s heart raced at the thought that the young nurse might actually make good on her threat, and shoot James.

M shook her head. She found it hard to believe that Stacey was doing this just because she’d realized James was not interested in her. There had to be something more, something else in play, for Stacey to be seeking revenge as she was.

And it was revenge. M had seen it in her eyes before James stepped in front of her.

She squared her shoulders.

Enough of this, M thought, then stepped out from behind him.

“M…” James lifted his arm to try and stop her.

“It’s all right, James,” M told him, as she moved to stand beside him. She laced her fingers with his as she held his hand just in front of her, resting her other hand on his forearm. She squeezed his fingers, grateful when she felt him return the gesture.

“That’s better,” Stacey said.

“Why are you doing this, Stacey?”

“Don’t you know? Aren’t you the all-knowing M?” Stacey asked, her voice laced with sarcasm. “Fuck, that’s all he ever talked about.”

“Tailor,” M replied softly with sudden realization. “You were having an affair with him.”

“I loved him!” Stacey retorted vehemently. “And no matter what I did for him, it was never enough. All I’d ever hear was how fast you’d moved through the ranks in the Secret Service, how the two of you made such a fabulous team…” She waved the gun about wildly. “How you were just so fucking perfect.”

Stacey stepped further into the bedroom. 

“After four years of having to listen to him talk non-stop about you, and enduring being compared to you, he suddenly stopped talking about you. I thought that maybe, finally, I’d worked my way into his heart.” She whipped the gun up and around, aiming it straight at M’s head.

M felt James tense beside her, and her body responded in kind. 

“But no. Oh no. His obsession with you only got worse,” Stacey said. “He’d convinced himself that all he had to do to make you his, was to get you out of the country, alone… away from everything and everyone, and you’d fall hopelessly in love with him. And, that’s when he began to start making crazy plans to kidnap you. Your being shot,” she gave a humourless chuckle, “worked right in his favour.”

“If you hate me so much, Stacey, why did you help him? Why did you help me?”

“Because I would do anything Tailor asked of me, even going so far as to care for you, my rival for his affections. Fuck, I wish you’d died on the operating table. I can’t tell you how hard I prayed for that, but no… you had to survive. But when he saw you after the surgery… saw how old you’d grown… how wrinkled, that’s when I saw my opportunity.” Stacey smiled at them, a dark, malicious smile. “I saw it in his eyes, saw that moment he realized you were no longer the perfect little Olivia he remembered. And that is when I convinced him that the best way to get back at you for all you’d done to him was to torture you, then kill you.”

“Where did I come in?” James spoke up.

“Why, you were to be part of the torture,” Stacey told him. “It was more than obvious how much she cared about you, although, I will admit, I hadn’t expected this.” She gestured to the messy bed. “Are you that desperate for a woman, James, that you’d fuck an old lady?”

M tightened her grip on his hand, willing him not to respond to the obvious taunt.

Stacey scowled at him when he said nothing, then continued her tale. “I told Tailor the best way to break Olivia was to kill you in front of her. So we devised a plan for you try and rescue her. It was easy to fool Olivia, and make her believe that I was on her side… and, she gave me what I needed to convince you. And you were pathetically easy to convince, James.”

“But you weren’t going to kill James, were you Stacey?” M asked quietly. “You were planning to kill me instead, weren’t you?”

Stacey applauded with the gun. “Yes, I was.”

“And, then what? Shoot James as well?”

“Originally, yes.”

“But then you met him, and decided to alter the plan.”

“Do you blame me?”

“Not at all. I’ve always thought James a very handsome man. Those magnificent broad shoulders, that oh so fine arse, those incredible blue eyes…” M gave an appreciative hum. “So, no… I don’t blame you, in the least, for hoping for a chance with him. It’s a shame though, that you’ll never know just how insatiable he is in bed.”

M watched Stacey’s eyes narrow, and felt James grip her fingers tighter, but to his credit, he did not say anything. 

“I saw your face on the roof,” M told her. “I saw the disgust, the incredulity that someone as virile as James could want an old woman like me.” She paused, and a slow smile curled the corners of her mouth. “And he DOES want me…”

Stacey suddenly stomped across the room to stand directly in front of them, and held her gun to M’s head. “You think you’re really something, don’t you?”

“I do,” M replied calmly, and felt James go rigid beside her. “Apparently, James does as well.”

“Don’t push me, Bitch!” Stacey growled, and pressed the muzzle of the gun harder against her forehead.

“Stacey,” James spoke softly. “Don’t do this. You don’t really want to do this…”

Stacey’s eyes shifted to James. “Oh, but I do, James. I really do.”

“I won’t let you kill her,” James told her, his voice suddenly low and full of danger.

“Fuck!” Stacey swore, then turned her gaze back to M. “What is it about you, old woman, that has everyone fucking panting after you? Tailor, James? You’re old enough to be his mother, his… his grandmother… it’s fucking disgusting!”

M loosened her grip on his fingers, and subtly slipped her hand from his. She felt a surge of pride when he shifted just so, and knew he was ready… knew he’d figured out her plan, and understood what he had to do.

“So, I suppose telling you that she’s amazing in bed, wouldn’t go over too well?” James inquired.

Stacey whipped her head around, her entire body shifting slightly.

It was all they needed.

M stepped back, and to the side, just enough to allow James to bring his arm up to knock the arm with the gun Stacey held into the air.

The gun went off.


	10. Chapter 10

James felt M’s grip on his hand ease, and when she slipped her hand from his, he knew exactly what she was planning. His heart hammered in his chest. If they weren’t careful, this could go horribly wrong… horribly wrong, and he could lose M again… for good this time.

But it was a chance they had to take, as Stacey seemed hell bent on shooting M, and him as well from the looks of it.

He shifted slightly, waiting for just the right moment to act, then decided to help things along. This standoff was getting tiresome, and he was afraid Stacey would snap, and pull the trigger, before he could get the gun away from her.

“So, I suppose telling you that she’s amazing in bed, wouldn’t go over too well?” he asked casually, knowing she’d react.

Stacey’s head whipped around, and her entire body shifted slightly.

It was all they needed.

James was aware of M stepping back, and just enough to the side, to allow him to bring his arm up to knock Stacey’s arm, the one holding the gun, into the air.

The gun went off.

“JAMES!”

He heard M shout, and spared her the briefest of glances as he grabbed hold of Stacey’s wrist to keep her from trying to fire the gun again.

They struggled.

Stacey put up a good fight, kicking, scratching, and even trying to bite him, but in the end, his superior strength won out. He tightened his grip on her wrist until, finally, the gun slipped from her hand to clatter onto the floor.

James hauled her across the room, and slammed her up against the wall, and he took great satisfaction in her cry of pain. He pressed his forearm against her throat, allowing her just enough air to stay conscious.

“Give me one good reason why I shouldn’t snap your fucking neck right now?”

“You wouldn’t kill a woman,” Stacey sputtered.

“Wouldn’t I?” James voice was hard as he pressed his arm harder against her throat, and watched her eyes widen as she realized he would, indeed, kill her. “You tried to kill the one person in this world who means everything to me, do you think I care one whit that you’re a woman?”

“James…”

Through the red haze of anger clouding his mind, and the blood pounding in his ears, James heard M’s voice.

“James… stop.”

He shook his head, then felt M’s hand on his shoulder. “James, stop…” she told him softly. “Don’t kill her.”

“She tried to kill you.”

“I know. But she’s not worth it, James,” M said. “Let Six deal with her.”

“M…”

“James, she’s not worth it. I know you’re licensed to kill… but this is personal, and it will eat at your soul.”

M was right. As always

With a sigh, James pulled his arm from Stacey’s throat, and stepped back, letting her slump against the wall. He took small satisfaction in the fact that she was left gasping heavily for breath. 

“I knew you couldn’t go through with it!” Stacey taunted in a hoarse voice. “Some big shot secret agent you are. You don’t even have the courage to kill a woman!”

James’ eyes widened at the sight of M’s fist suddenly flying at Stacey, catching the younger woman square in the jaw; the force of the punch, smacking her head back into wall. She collapsed into a heap on the floor.

“Foolish girl,” M remarked, flexing her fingers as she looked down at Stacey. “He would have snapped your neck like a twig. You should be more grateful.”

Stacey slowly lifted her head, and glared hatefully up at them as she rubbed her jaw, but wisely remained silent.

James grinned. “That’s my M!” He grasped her hand gently in his, and lightly ran his thumb over her fingers. “All right?”

“Yes.”

“Good,” James replied as he lifted her hand, and whispered a kiss over her knuckles. “So, what should we do with her?”

“Tie her up, and leave her for Six.”

“You’re the boss.”

~007~007~007~

M kept the gun trained on Stacey until James finished securing the ropes holding the young woman to the chair. She glanced down at the stained bullet-proof vest on the floor at her feet. Stacey must have suspected Tailor was going to betray her to have taken such a precaution, going so far as to rig it to bleed wherever the bullet hit her.

M shook her head sadly.

“And just so you won’t disturb my neighbours…” James stuffed a dish towel in her mouth.

She lowered the gun as James moved to her side, then grasped her elbow, and led her back to his bedroom.

“Thank you for not killing her,” M said quietly once they were in his room.

“I did that for you.”

M shook her head slowly as she lifted her hand to cup the side of his face. “You did it for us,” she corrected him. “If we’re going to have any kind of future, I want you whole, James… heart and soul.”

James nodded, but M could still detect traces of anger in his blue eyes, feel it in the tension of his body. 

He’d been trained to kill. Been groomed to be a blunt instrument… a killer, and she’d had a hand in his becoming what he was. But he was so much more than that, and always had been. It was the more that had long drawn her to him. 

“You’re not a thug, James” M told him quietly. “You are so much more than that.”

James reached up to cover her hand with his. As he nuzzled his cheek into palm, M felt the tension slowly leave his body, and watched the anger leave his gaze.

“Did you call Tanner?” he asked her.

“Yes.”

“I’ll bet he was happy to hear your voice.”

“He did mention that, yes.” M chuckled. “It was good to hear his voice as well.”

James smiled.

“He’s sending a team over to take custody of Miss Aiken,” she continued. “And he’s also bringing me a proper change of clothes.”

James laughed. “I like you in my clothes,” he quipped as he slipped his arms about her waist and drew her closer. “I like you better in no clothes at all.”

M rested her hands on his chest, and gave him an indulgent look. “Some things never change, do they, 007?”

He chuckled, and lifted one hand to cup her cheek. “Some things do,” he murmured, and lowered his mouth to hers.

M hummed at the tender kiss. She slid one hand up his chest, over his shoulder, and into his hair, holding him close as she deepened the kiss.

When they finally parted, both were flushed and breathless.

“So, tell me, Olivia…” James began quietly. “Do you suppose it’s too late to make a run for it?”

She laughed softly. “I’m game if you are.”

James grinned down at her. “Good.”

“Where will we go?” 

“Anywhere you want, Olivia.”

M smiled, and drew his lips back to hers, as he whispered once more, “Anywhere you want.”


	11. Epilogue

The cool water lapped at her ankles, and she couldn’t resist curling her toes in the wet sand under her feet. The gentle breeze, though warm, helped to cool her sun-kissed skin as it rustled around her.

It was a beautiful, sunny day. Warm, tropical… paradise, really.

‘Well, it would be if I could escape,’ Olivia thought as she listened to the woman beside her continue to rattle on and on about the various activities for “people our age” available at the resort. 

She scanned the shoreline. ‘Come on, James, where the hell are you?’

They’d been lounging by the pool, after an early morning swim, when James’ mobile had rung.

 

_“It’s Stanhope,” he told her as he got to his feet. “I need to take this. I shouldn’t be long.”_

_“All right,” she replied. “If I’m not here, I’ll be on the beach.”_

_James leaned down, and gave her a quick kiss, murmuring softly against her lips, before he wandered away._

 

That had been more than forty minutes ago, and Olivia was beginning to wonder if there was a problem.

“They have those incredible water slides,” Vanessa, Olivia remembered the woman said her name was, still rambled on. “But of course, for women our age, we’re better off floating along on the Lazy River.”

Olivia sighed softly, and continued keeping a look out for James.

She’d been standing, quite happily alone, in the surf, watching the sailboats in the distance, waiting for James to return when the other woman had approached her to ask her the time, then had proceeded to talk her ear off.

“Oh my good lord!”

At the breathless exclamation, Olivia looked at Vanessa to see her staring, wide-eyed, down the beach. She followed the other woman’s line of vision, and a slow smile spread across her face.

“If only I were twenty years younger,” Vanessa commented appreciatively. “That is a very good looking man. Don’t you think so?”

“Yes, he is.” Olivia agreed as she watched James make his way across the sand to the water’s edge and glance around.

She couldn’t blame Vanessa for her reaction. James, his body tanned a golden brown from two months of soaking up the sun on the white Bahamian beaches, looked decidedly delectable in his black swimming trunks. 

Olivia knew James had spotted her when a large smile spread across his face, followed by a quick wave.

“Do you know him?” Vanessa asked as Olivia waved back.

“Yes, I do.”

“Oh, I’m sorry! Is he your son?”

“No,” Olivia answered softly, and without further comment, began to make her way down the beach towards James when she saw him start to jog in her direction.

~007~007~007~

James walked across the warm white sand, his eyes scouring the beach for Olivia. His call had taken a little longer than he anticipated, but it had been good news, and he was anxious to share it with her.

When his feet hit the water, he stopped, and looked up and down the water’s edge. His lips curled up into a large smile when he spotted her, and he waved then began to make his way to her.

He trailed his eyes over her, appreciating, once again, how incredibly sexy she looked in her black swimsuit with her sun-kissed skin. Retiring to the Bahamas had been a very good idea, he thought. She’d been able to fully recover from her surgery, and they’d grown much closer, and he’d fallen even deeper in love with her than he thought possible.

James began to jog towards her, suddenly needing to have her in his arms.

“James!”

She laughed when he lifted her into his arms, the sound shooting straight to his groin. He spun her around, and kissed her eagerly. Their mouths were still locked together when he stopped spinning, and lowered her feet to the ground. He was pleased when she kept her arms around his neck, and her body pressed against his.

“Mmm…” she moaned softly when the kiss finally ended. “What was that for?”

“Do I need a reason to kiss you?”

Olivia shook her head.

“Good,” James said. “Now that we have that cleared up. There was a reason, beyond my just loving kissing you, for that kiss.”

She smirked, and laced her fingers at the nape of his neck.

“You know that call was from Stanhope.”

“Yes.”

“It’s ready, Olivia,” James told her.

“It’s ready? Really?”

“Yes, it’s ready.”

“They’ve finished ahead of schedule.”

“I know,” James said with a grin. “Dominick was quite pleased, and he called to say, if we wanted to, we could go and inspect it. Make certain everything meets with our approval.”

“How soon can we go?” she asked, her voice laced with excitement.

James chuckled. “Right now, if you like.”

“Oh yes, I’d like that!” She rose up on her toes, and kissed him quickly. “The villa’s been lovely…”

“But, you’re ready to be in our home.”

“Yes.” Olivia nodded.

“So am I,” James told her, then gave her a large grin as he grabbed her by the waist and lifted her into his arms. She immediately wrapped her legs around his waist, and he groaned when her pussy pressed deliciously against his half-hard cock. “I’ve got an idea.”

“Do you now?” she asked him as he began to carry her across the sand.

“Not that, you insatiable minx!” He laughed, then grinned as he pulled her closer. “Although, I am quite willing to delay the inspection of our new home if you so desire.”

Olivia laughed. “What’s your idea?”

“I thought we might make a picnic out of it. Grab a couple pillows, some blankets… grab a few sandwiches from Murray’s Deli, and a bottle of champagne, then see about christening our new home,” James told her. “How does that sound to you?”

“That sounds delightful.”

James grinned at her.

“You really are a romantic, James,” Olivia said, her voice laced with affection, as she combed her fingers through his hair.

“For you, my M, always,” James replied as he stepped onto the boardwalk, and continued along the trail leading to their private villa.

“I’m no longer M, James, you know that.”

James stopped. He lifted one hand to brush the backs of his fingers over her cheek as he held her eyes, then spoke in a quiet voice, “You will always be **my** M.”

Olivia held his gaze.

James felt her heart skip a beat along with his, and knew she could see the love he had for her on full display in his blue eyes.

“I do love you so, James Bond”

“And, I love you, Olivia Bond.”

Their lips met in a deep, loving kiss, both of them oblivious to the other tourists passing them on the trail.

“James…” Olivia murmured against his lips as she gently circled her hips against his.

He groaned, and felt his cock pulse against her sex. “Mmm…?”

“A slight delay in inspecting our new home would be acceptable.”

A strangled half-groan, half-laugh escaped him, and he resumed his trek towards their villa; very anxious now to make love to his wife. “Yes, ma’am.”


End file.
